Watch out for pecan weevils, New Mexico officials urge

LAS CRUCES - It's a small insect that bores holes in pecans. But it has big potential to wreak havoc on Doña Ana County's multi-million pecan industry.

Jeff Witte, New Mexico secretary of agriculture, talks during a press conference about the pecan weevil quarantine and the theft of pecans in southern New Mexico. Wednesday Dec. 20, 2017 at San Saba Pecan.(Photo: Josh Bachman/Sun-News)

State agriculture officials said that's why they're hoping to keep the pest, known as the pecan weevil, out of Doña Ana County with a set of emergency regulations in New Mexico.

The pest has been found in pecans in the eastern part of the state, nuts from four counties are now quarantined: Chaves, Curry, Eddy and Lea. That means pecans from those areas can't be hauled to another part of New Mexico, such as Las Cruces, without being treated or frozen — methods that kill any pecan weevils, said New Mexico Agriculture Secretary Jeff Witte.

"The reason we're doing this quarantine is because we don't want to have pecan weevils here," Witte said during a news conference on Wednesday in Las Cruces.

That's because Doña Ana County is the "No. 1 pecan-producing county in the nation," accounting for nearly 80 percent of the state's $213 million-per-year pecan crop, Witte said. And the weevil would hurt nut production.

Buyers affected, too

The 180-day quarantine, which is in effect through May 20, also imposes more regulations statewide on pecan buyers and processors, who must keep records related to every purchase of nuts, according to the NMDA. They must get contact information from the seller, the geographical location the nuts were grown, and the weight of the pecans being sold.

Phillip Arnold, president of the New Mexico Pecan Growers Association, explains what pecan consumers should look for if they suspect they have a pecan weevil, during a press conference at San Saba Pecan on the quarantine of pecans along with thefts of pecans in the county. Wednesday, Dec. 20,(Photo: Josh Bachman/Sun-News)

"There's a lot of buyers," Witte said. "We want to make sure they know where they are purchasing their pecans from."

Las Cruces pecan farmer and buyer Phillip Arnold said the pecan weevil has turned up in different parts of the state, including Doña Ana and Luna counties, previously. But it was successfully eradicated.

"The pecan weevil is a very serious pest, somewhat devastating in other areas of the country where they have to deal with it," said Arnold, president of the New Mexico Pecan Growers Association. "With Doña Ana County being one of the largest production areas in the world for pecans, it would be a major problem for us, and it would be very detrimental to the industry here, if we were to get it in here."

If the insect ever is found in Doña Ana County, Arnold said growers would have to spray insecticide about five to six times a year to keep it at bay. He said he doesn't want to see that in a county that's also got development and homes interspersed with farm acreage.

Residents asked to be alert

Witte said the agriculture department is also hoping to raise awareness among the public to be on the lookout for pecan weevils. Sometimes family members in other areas will ship small amounts of pecans as gifts. The weevil could possibly be spread that way.

"If a homeowner sees a pecan with a weevil on it, what we want them to do is put it in the freezer and kill it," he said.

Adult pecan weevils are "tan to grayish-brown beetles" that are 3/8 to 1/2 of an inch long, according to NMSU's Cooperative Extension Service. And they have "extremely long, very slender, curved snouts."

A worker at San Saba Pecan moves containers of pecans around the warehouse, before a press conference was held discussing the Pecan weevil quarantine and the theft of pecans in Doña Ana County. Wednesday Dec. 20, 2017.(Photo: Josh Bachman/Sun-News)

The NMDA is advising that pecans be frozen for at least seven days to ensure any weevils are killed.

One of the worst things to do is to throw the nuts outside untreated, where weevils could possibly take hold in local trees, officials said.

Pecans infested with the weevil will have a hole in the pecan shell; inside, a larvae with a red head can be seen, officials said.

There's a second pecan pest, the pecan nut casebearer, in New Mexico that also creates holes in pecans' shells, but it's not the focus of the most-recent quarantine.

Apart from the quarantine affecting the four New Mexico counties, there's also an "exterior quarantine" in place since 1997 that affects pecans being shipped into the state from a number of other states, according to the NMDA. That quarantine doesn't apply to nuts originating from Arizona and California. Also, it's not applicable to pecans from El Paso County, Hudspeth County and part of Culberson County in Texas.

Got questions?

If Doña Ana County residents have questions about whether their pecans might be infested with pecan weevils, they can reach out to the cooperative extension service, said Jeff Anderson, horticulture extension specialist for the county. He said they can take a sample of their pecans to the extension office, but they should be frozen beforehand, in case they are infested.

The Doña Ana County Cooperative Extension Service is at 1170 N. Solano Drive, Ste. M., Las Cruces. Its hours of operation are 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. The office will be closed Dec. 22 to Jan. 2. For info, call 575-525-6649.

Extension offices are located in counties across the state.

Also, people can contact the NMDA with any concerns about possible pecan weevil infestations at 575-646-3007 or blewis@nmda.nmsu.edu .